Network coded cooperative diversity with multiple sources

This paper analyzes a cooperative diversity scheme in which multiple (i.e., more than two) source nodes cooperate to deliver their packets to a common destination. To obtain spatial diversity, the source nodes form a partnership that enables each source node to transmit its own packets while relaying those of its partners. Instead of time-multiplexing the codewords for local packets and relay packets (as in conventionally done), we adopt a network coded approach wherein the local and relay packets are first channel encoded and then XORed together. The resulting scheme generalizes the design in [1], which considered only two source nodes. We are able to show that the network coded approach delivers a significant performance advantage over conventional time multiplexing even when more than two source nodes are present.